Metro districts are independent governmental entities formed to finance, design, acquire, install, construct, operate and/or maintain public improvements that are not otherwise being provided.

• Current “pay its way” system now requires residents in new homes to pay for the direct infrastructure required for their homes by requiring developers to provide those improvements as part of the approval processes.

• Note that new residents are part of the overall tax base that pays for county/city-wide upgrades, expansions, and maintenance of the original infrastructure.

• Metro districts have become a common way for a portion of the required public improvements to be financed.

• Access to capital, and the relative costs of capital, are just a few of the reasons why funding public improvements through metro districts is done.

• In the absence of an HOA or Cities/Towns (or other local government) taking ownership and maintenance responsibilities for all of the public improvements, with increased frequency Metro districts are often filling that void:

• In unincorporated areas, metro districts may own, operate and maintain fire (like the Arvada Protection District), water and sewer systems when there are no other local governments to do so.
• Even within Cities/Towns, metro districts often continue to own, operate and maintain landscaping, parks, recreation facilities and non-dedicated public streets because the City/Town has not agreed to accept some public improvements.
• The Highlands Ranch Metropolitan District, for example, built $185 million in public infrastructure to allow for its nationally recognized 22,000-acre planned community. This metro district continues to provide ongoing operations and maintenance of a number of these improvements, including, notably, parks, recreation and open space facilities and services.
• Some special districts, for example South Suburban Park and Recreation District, fill a void in the services that are not being provided by Counties/Cities/Towns in urban areas.
• Metro districts are also taking on other traditional HOA duties such as enforcement of protective covenants, reducing the number of competing community governance entities.

For more information, visit Colorado Association of Home Builders.

Please see below for the relationship between Cimarron and Vauxmont within Candelas

“The property within the Candelas development (“Development”) is located within the boundaries and/or service area of two districts - the Cimarron Metropolitan District (“Cimarron”) and Vauxmont Metropolitan District (“Vauxmont” and with Cimarron, the “Districts”). The Districts are quasi-municipal corporations and political subdivisions of the State of Colorado organized in the City of Arvada (“City”) and operate pursuant to Service Plans which were approved by the City on March 1, 2004 (as modified on March 29, 2010, the “Service Plans”).

Pursuant to a Facilities Funding, Construction and Operations Agreement between the Districts, Cimarron serves as the “Managing District” for financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining certain public improvements within its service area, which is generally the boundaries of the Development, and Vauxmont serves as the “Financing District” to provide funding to the Managing District. Vauxmont is also responsible for providing covenant control services.  

Conversations relative to shifting all maintenance, ownership and management responsibilities from Cimarron to Vauxmont are currently being undertaken.

Property tax calculation

(market value of property) X (assessment rate) X (mill levy) = Property tax

Each mill is 1/1,000 of a dollar, so the mill levy per dollar of assessed value is: 173.1280/1,000 = .1731280

Overall Property Example:

$500,000 X 7.15% (for FY 2019/2020) X 0.1731280 = $6,189

Metro District Specific Example:

$500,000 X 7.15% (for FY 2019/2020) X 0.077930 (Metro District Only) = $2,786

Vauxmont Metro District Operating is 22 Mills

Vauxmont Metro District Debt Payment is 55 Mills

Vauxmont Series 2019 and 2020 Bonds

Vauxmont Metropolitan District has two bond issues. The Series 2019 bond in the amount of $66,265,000 issued in December 2019 and the Series 2020 bond in the amount of $66,355,000 issued in September 2020. These bonds carry interest of 3.25% to 5% and 5%, respectively.

The bonds were issued to refinance prior District debt that was used for infrastructure construction consisting of streets, sidewalks, grading/drainage systems and recreation installations. Complete descriptions of these bond indentures may be found in the footnotes of the annual audits of Vauxmont Metropolitan District found with District Documents.

Please stop by our service center and we'd be happy to help you! Our staff is available to assist you between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm on the following days:

     •  Monday through Friday at the Parkview Swim & Fitness Club (19865 West 94th Avenue)
     •  The Townview Swim & Fitness Club (9371 McIntyre Street) is currently not staffed.

You may start the process from the comfort of your home! Please be sure to fill out all of the required fields (marked with an asterisk *) and click "Submit" at the bottom of the page. Next, please add everyone who is residing in the house, including a spouse (level 2) and any children (level 3), by clicking the appropriate level "add" button at the bottom of your profile page. 

Once this is complete, you may visit the office to complete your setup. Please bring a copy of your warranty deed or settlement agreement to prove your ownership, as well as a photo ID. We can provide your access cards and pool wristbands after a few simple signatures. We'll also get you added to the distribution list for our weekly community e-blasts, so you can stay up-to-date on what's happening in the community.

**Two access cards are available to each household for free - if you are the owners of the home. Only one person needs to come to pick up IDs and wristbands. 

PLEASE NOTE: If you are renting a home in Candelas, you may either ask the property owner for their access cards to use the facilities, free of charge. Or, you may request your own online account as renters, and we can verify your residency with a signed lease agreement and photo ID. Renters will need to purchase new access cards for $30 apiece, which will be set to expire after the rental period ends. This policy is to ensure that we are keeping accurate records of who is living in the community, so only homeowners and current renters can access the facilities.

Contact the US Postal Service directly to set up your mail service. Staff at the Indian Tree Post Office will be able to assist you with obtaining your mail key and beginning your service.  

7765 Wadsworth Blvd
Arvada, CO 80003
800-275-8777

The Board of Directors and community management team are committed to managing and maintaining the quality and enjoyment of the Candelas community facilities and amenities. The wristband program is intended to ensure appropriate use of the facilities by those who live within the neighborhood. As such, the wristband policy will be enforced by the seasonal pool monitors, and District staff. We thank you in advance for your participation in maintaining the value of ownership within the community! 

Candelas does not have a homeowners association; instead, it is encompassed by the Vauxmont Metropolitan District. The District functions similarly to an HOA, providing many of the same services, including financial management and covenant enforcement. The main difference is how each entity is funded - where an HOA sets specific fees that are due on a regular basis, a Metro District is funded through the tax revenue. For this reason, there are no separate HOA fees to be paid at Candelas. Instead, the tax rate is slightly elevated in the community and a percentage of those additional taxes collected by Jefferson County ultimately fund the operations of the Metro District. The only separate quarterly "dues" homeowners need to pay are the trash and recycling fees of $42.50.

There are a few other scenarios that may require homeowners to pay an additional fee. For example, homeowners living in the "Alley Lot" homes in the Townview village, are a part of the low-maintenance program, which includes basic landscaping maintenance and snow removal services for these specific lots. These homes pay an additional quarterly fee.

All homes pay an initial Plan Review Fee (usually at closing) of $150, which includes the application fee for initial backyard landscaping. Any subsequent submittals for permanent external changes to the home should be submitted to the Design Review Committee ("DRC"), and will need to pay a $75 Design Review Fee with the application.

For questions on any of these fees, or any other potential fees that homeowners may need to pay, please contact the District office at 720-625-8080.

The property within the Candelas development (“Development”) is located within the boundaries and/or service area of two districts - the Cimarron Metropolitan District (“Cimarron”) and Vauxmont Metropolitan District (“Vauxmont” and with Cimarron, the “Districts”). The Districts are quasi-municipal corporations and political subdivisions of the State of Colorado organized in the City of Arvada (“City”) and operate pursuant to Service Plans which were approved by the City on March 1, 2004 (as modified on March 29, 2010, the “Service Plans”).

Pursuant to a Facilities Funding, Construction and Operations Agreement between the Districts, Cimarron serves as the “Managing District” for financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining certain public improvements within its service area, which is generally the boundaries of the Development, and Vauxmont serves as the “Financing District” to provide funding to the Managing District. Vauxmont is also responsible for providing covenant control services.  

Conversations relative to shifting all maintenance, ownership and management responsibilities from Cimarron to Vauxmont are currently being undertaken.

What is CORA?

The Colorado Open Records Act "CORA" requires that most public records be available to the public.
A "public record" includes most writings made, maintained, or kept by our office. However, there are some exceptions concerning records made available under CORA. Anyone can request public records in the possession of a the Cimarron and Vauxmont Metropolitan District(s).
 
How do I submit a CORA request?

In making your request, it is helpful to include the following:

• Your name and mailing address
• Your phone number or email address so that we can contact you if we need to clarify your request
• A detailed list or description of the specific records that you are seeking, including search terms and a date range

The more specific your request is, the faster we can complete it. Being specific also helps us to avoid giving you too much or too little information.  Please submit requests to CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (contact information found on the Contact Us page).
 
How long will it take to respond to my request?

When responding to a request for public records, we will make every effort to respond within three working days as required by section 24-72-203(3)(b), C.R.S. The three working-day response time begins the first working day following receipt of the complete request. A request received after close of business or any day the office is officially closed will be considered received as of the following working day. We may add up to a seven-working-day extension as allowed in section 24-72-203(3)(b), C.R.S.
 
How much will my CORA request cost?

Broad, general requests will likely be more costly to the requestor due to the staff time required to fulfill these requests. When a request is made that requires more than one hour of staff time to locate or produce records, the office will charge the requestor for all copying expenses or staff time in accordance with section 24-72-205(5)(a), C.R.S.

Before fulfilling a substantial request, the agency will provide a cost estimate to the requestor that includes the estimated time for staff to search for, retrieve, redact, assemble, and transmit the records. The requestor must approve the cost estimate before the office will begin work on fulfilling the request. 

The timeframe for completion of the request is put on hold between providing the cost estimate to the requestor and the requestor approving the cost estimate or submitting the advance deposit, whichever is applicable.

Costs associated with a request must be paid in full before the office will produce the records.

Please visit the link below and enter your address to access Republic's trash schedule. 

Republic Trash Schedule

Street Light Update

Over the past many months the District has been working with the City to identify causes for why so many of our street lights are not working.  The City has identified issues with many of the solar street lights within Candelas, ranging from broken panels to light pole structural defects (due largely to the high winds in our community).  Below is a summary from the City on the behind-the-scenes work on a repair and replacement program, with a timeline that will have all of our street lights functioning as intended by July. 

• The City team has inspected all approximately 150 solar lights in Candelas. There are three different solar light manufacturers in Candelas.
• Of those lights, the City has identified 49 lights, all from the same manufacturer, that need to be replaced due to damage. Replacement ranges from poles, controllers, batteries, and/or solar panels, depending on the light.
• Due to on-going supply chain issues, the total replacement of these 49 lights could take several months. In some cases light poles have already been removed due to structural issues with the poles. As a result, certain areas of the neighborhood will experience more darkness in that area until the lights can be replaced. The City is trying to be strategic in both where they remove poles and install replacement lights when they arrive to minimize extended periods of darkness.     

The City team recognizes that solar lights in Candelas have been problematic for a variety of reasons. Once the 49 solar lights have been replaced, the City team will work on planning for a long term solution for the street lights in Candelas in partnership with the developer.

Please visit the link below for the City of Arvada's official website.

Arvada, CO | Official Website (arvadaco.gov)